Life beneath the sea is Strange
by Pricefield4Evev
Summary: Max's grief at the loss of her best friend and girlfriend Chloe Price has finally become too much. There's no more joy left for her in school, with her friends and in her life. While on a whale boating tour, she throws herself into the ocean, but makes a discovery that renews her will to live. For a familiar face has reappeared. In a form no one could have ever foreseen.
1. Chapter 1

Max looked out at the ocean from the slightly rocking and bobbing whale watching boat tour that she was on. She had hoped that doing this would improve her mood. But she was wrong. The rest of the tour group was watching a pod of whales swimming together a ways off at the front of the boat. Everyone was laughing happily, snapping off photos and talking excitedly.

But for Max there was no joy, so much so that she was by herself at the back of the large two deck boat. Her face and eyes were devoid of any emotion as she rested her chin on top of her hand that was grasping the railing. Her other hand was slowly spinning the bullets on Chloe's necklace that she was wearing. It was only a week after Chloe Prices funeral. And the heartbreak was still far too near to enjoy the tour.

Max then raised her head and sighed, "What's the point anymore..." Max thought to herself. She then climbed over the railing, stood on the outer edge of the boat and grasped onto the railing on either side of her body and began to lean forward, peering into the oceans water. The grief had finally become too much for Max to bear. She'd just let the ocean swallow her up...

Suddenly, "No! Don't do it! Don't jump!" A terrified crew member called out. Max slowly looked over at him with the same emotionless, expressionless face she'd bore for the last 7 days. Then, she let go and started to fall towards the water from the second upper deck of the ship.

"Man overboard! Man overboard!" The crew member cried out. And the ships loud rescue alarm began to blare out loudly.

Max then impacted the waters surface in a belly flop style landing. It hurt, but that wouldn't matter soon. She then began to sink. Making absolutely no effort to resist the pull of the oceans water. Her wet clothes, jeans and camera bag only helped her sink faster.

Tiny bubbles of air escaped from her eyes, nose, corners of her mouth as she continued to sink deeper and deeper into the depths. She could barely hear the rescue horn blaring on the surface anymore.

Now her lungs began to hurt, she started to feel like she was choking. "Please just let me die fast!" Max thought to herself.

Her lungs soon felt ready to burst and she was involuntarily grasping at her throat. Max couldn't tell if it was getting darker because of how deep she was getting or if it was the light of her life leaving her eyes. It wouldn't be long now. Max began to lose consciousness, she was drowning, dying... And she welcomed it.

Max grunted as something suddenly impacted her hard from the front. Then a pair of hands grasped her by the cheeks and pulled her head forward, straight into... a kiss? From another girl with her underwater? No, it wasn't a kiss. It was air? Max felt as if the water were being sucked out of her lungs with every inward breath this girl took, then felt a rush of air enter her mouth and lungs every time she breathed out. The two girls now floated parallel to one another, face to face, their lips and mouths pressed together.

Max couldn't see this girls face as she was too close to her own. But she did see one hazel coloured eye looking downward towards Max's mouth. This eye then looked up and met Max's gaze and the other girl actually winked at her! She also had long strands of blonde hair floating all around her head. But Max couldn't make out any other details than this.

Max then ran the fingers out of her left hand down the girls cheek and down towards her neck. Max gasped as she felt 4 slits running along her neck. Just then, as the girl took in another deep breath, Max felt a rush of air, bubbles and water move past her finger tips. They weren't just slits. They were gills!

When the girl breathed out, her gills closed and she sent a rush of only oxygen back into Max's mouth and lungs. This girl was breathing for Max underwater. Keeping her alive.

Max was almost fully conscious as her lungs and body began to fill with oxygen again. Her saviour then moved her head and mouth away from Max, moved her head over top of Max's right shoulder and began kicking hard for the surface. Though Max didn't even try to look at this girls face. She was shocked beyond belief to see that her rescuer wasn't kicking with feet, but a giant fish tail, connected from her waist down.

Her rescuer swam hard a few more times, then pushed Max away from her. Hoping the momentum would carry Max further on towards the surface. She then did an amazingly acrobatic 180 degree flip and swam a short distance away and then turned around, revealing herself.

"It's a mermaid?!" Max thought to herself. But that was followed up by an even more horrifying discovery as she finally saw the girls face. "It's Rachel Amber?!"

Sure enough, every feature of this girls face matched that of Rachel Amber exactly. But there was no sea shell bra top. Just a plain piece of black cloth wrapped around her chest. The mermaid girl then waved goodbye with her left hand and she even had the star tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. She then blew Max a kiss, smiled brightly, turned and kicked her tail hard and descended into the depths of the ocean. Disappearing from view soon after.

It was only Max choking and gasping for breath once again that made her kick hard for the surface a short distance away. She then broke the waters edge and gasped deeply and whipped her head and her hair back. She quickly looked around for the ship she jumped from as she treaded water. She then spotted it behind her, along with 4 rescue boats searching the area for her.

"Hey!" Max shouted as she waved her right hand and continued to tread water, "Help! I'm over here! Help!"

A crew man spotted her, "There she is!" He shouted as he pointed her out for the other boats as well. The little rescue rafts motor then sprang to life and the boat quickly whipped around and started towards Max to pull her out of the water.

"There's no mistake... That was Rachel Amber!" Max thought to herself. "She's a mermaid? I guess it's possible? If I have the power to control time, then this is just as plausible?"

The boat then plucked Max out of the water. And she was set down on the nearest seat and had a blanket wrapped around her.

"Are you alright?" One of the rescue workers asked.

Max slowly nodded, then she felt her neck and noticed that Chloe's necklace was gone! "She took it? Rachel took Chloe's necklace as she was saving me? Why? As payment for saving me? Sentimental value?"

"Hey, Kid. I said are you alright?" The man repeated.

A million questions and thoughts ran through Max's mind. But then slowly, Max smiled for the first time since Chloe's death, "Yeah... Yeah I think everything's going to be alright now, sir. Thank you for saving me!"

"No problem, kiddo."

As the rescue boat started back towards the ship, Max continued to smile, "I have to live... I have to stay alive to figure out this mystery!" And with that determination, Max's will to live and play detective once again came back to life with a vengeance. She would get to the bottom of this, if it took the rest of her life to solve!


	2. A new direction

A new direction

Kate Marsh was being led through one of the many corridors of Acadia Bay hospital by a doctor. Once Kate heard about Max's apparent suicide attempt she knew that she had to be there for her, as Max was once there for her when she thought about ending it all herself.

"Is Max ok? She's not hurt is she?" Kate asked in concern.

The doctor flipped through some papers on his clipboard. "Physically Maxine Caulfield is uninjured after her attempt. But we have some concerns about her mental health. Therefore she will remain here for a few days for observations before we release her."

"I understand," Kate replied, "Thank you for letting me see her so soon."

The doctor and Kate then stopped in front of a hospital room and the doctor pointed into the room with his pen. Kate nodded in acknowledgement, waited for him to leave and looked into the room and spotted Max looking out the hospital window towards the ocean.

Max was dressed in a pair of beige hospital pyjama pants and a plain white T-shirt and and her arms crossed and her right hand up against her mouth in a fist.

Kate knocked softly against the door frame and caught Max's attention. "Kate?!" Max asked in surprise.

"Hello, Max. Can I come on?" Kate asked softly.

Max nodded and rubbed her hands together nervously as Kate slowly approached, "Kate I... I don't know what to say about all this, I'm so embarrassed and ashamed after what I-"

Kate then embraced Max in an unexpected hug and held on, "Max. Your childhood friend just died. I'm sorry. You must been in so much pain... I'm sorry I wasn't there for you sooner. I truly am. But I'm here now and I won't let you suffer through this alone anymore. I promise."

As Max continued to be hugged by Kate, she looked all around the room. Looking at her 'Get Well Soon' cards and balloons she had received from Warren, Brooke, Alyssa and so many other Blackwell students. To her phone that had unread text alerts from her parents, to the notepad and pen sitting on a table nearby.

"It's the opposite... Only now... Kate is where I once stood... Shes's here for me." Max realized, in this reality Kate was the strong one and Max wasn't. Their roles completely reversed.

Max's body trembled, tears welled up in her eyes and she slowly reached up and hugged Kate back. And they both cried into each other's shoulders as their sad embrace continued.

A short while later, after their tears were dried, Max was sitting on her bed, crosslegged and Kate took up a seat on a nearby chair.

"Max, if you ever need anyone to talk to, you know I'm always here for you, right?"

Max nodded, "I know, thank you, Kate."

"Visiting hours will be over in 10 minutes. I repeat, visiting hours will be over in the next 10 minutes." Rang out the loud speakers.

"I promise I'll come by tomorrow to visit you again Max. Before I leave, do you need anything?" Kate asked.

Max fidgeted, then got the courage to ask, "Can you go to the library and check out as many books about Mermaids as you can and bring them to me tomorrow?"

"Mermaids? Why?" Kate inquired.

Max just shrugged, "I'm here for a few more days. Might as well have something to occupy my time."

Kate nodded, "I understand. I'll go to the library for you as soon as I can tomorrow."

"Thanks, Kate." Max responded.

"Well, I better go now." Said Kate as soon as another final visitors announcement rang out.

Max waved goodbye, then looked after at her phone, then dreaded what was to come next as she dialled her parents number.

It rang a few times then her mother answered, "Hello?! Maxine?!"

Max sighed, "I told you, just Max. Never Maxine."

"Max... Why?" Max's mother asked, "If you were suffering that much then you should have just come home!"

"Mother, I just... felt so lost and alone. You know how much Chloe meant to me and how long we were friends for. When she died I felt I lost everything.

But believe me when I say that my faith and will to live has been restored. By my friends and by recent events in my life.

I want to live. More than anything now." Max reassured her mother.

"Alright, Max. I believe you. One thing that you've never been is a liar." Max's mother replied in relief, "Your father and I will be there as soon as we can to visit you."

"Thanks, and when you do... I want to talk about enrolling in a new class or two. Outside of my Blackwell Academy courses. But I'll need your help and credit card number to do so."

"What classes?"

Max then looks down at a sheet of paper she used to take notes, on it was written 'Arcadia Bay snorkelling and scuba diving classes' along with a website address and phone number.

"Just something I've become very interested in. Something to go right along side my love of photography." Max replied with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun rose on a beautiful June day, 8 months since Max had made the discovery about Rachel Amber and her true form, a Mermaid. Since that time, make had spent all her time in the Blackwell academy library, studying everything she could find about Mermaid lore and anything related to them. When she wasn't there she was in the Blackwell pool, building up her stamina by swimming laps.

Also, she was now a fully certified diver, with well over 100 hours logged into the local pool and beach diving exercises. But she needed to go out further than just diving along the shoreline. She needed to be miles further out, perhaps retrace the path of the whale watching tour boat? Because that's where she had found Rachel, or perhaps where Rachel found her?

She already knew of a possible way to get out that far. It would require talking to and convincing a friend she hadn't seen in a very long time. Max took her phone out of her pocket as she sat by the fountain at the front of Blackwell Academy. She punched in a number from her contacts, pushed talk and let it ring. She took a deep nervous breath.

"Hello?!" An excited male voice answered.

"Hey, Warren. It's Max."

"Wow, Max. This is a surprise. I barely saw you all school year and now I get a call from the photography queen herself? What's the occasion?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that Warren. I didn't mean to be so distant. I was just... Working my way through losing Chloe. She was my... Best friend."

"Oh, Shit! I'm so sorry, Max! I didn't remember that she- look I'm so sorry about that."

"It's ok. I should've let you and everyone else help me through this. But I just made sure that I was distracted and my focus was elsewhere. so I focused on school and a few other things. A new hobby or two?"

"I see. Well so long as you remember that you're not alone in this. I'll always be here for you, Max!"

"I know, Warren, thanks." Max replied. She then tugged at the collar of her shirt nervously, "Listen, the real reason I called was because I wanted to ask you a favour?"

"Sure thing, Max. Go ahead!" Warren said encouragingly.

"You still have your boating licence, right? You can go out onto the ocean from here on your parents boat?"

"Well yeah , of course I have it. But why? What do you need it for?" Warren questioned.

"Just... Feeling like trying out something new. Underwater photography maybe?" Max partially lied.

"Huh, well... I suppose I could talk to my parents about letting me borrow it?" Warren answered, "But! What do I get in return?"

Max began to blush, "Look at it this way, think of it as that date that I know that you've always wanted. Just you, me, some music and drinks out on the ocean? That sounds... Kind of romantic, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! It kind of does! Alright, how about this Saturday? I'm sure I can convince my folks to let me use it! Hell if I have to do a months worth of chores to earn it, I will!" Warren exclaimed ecstatically.

Max felt bad, this wasn't a date, not by a long shot. Because her heart still belonged 100% to Chloe, even after her death. But Warren was the only one who she knew that could help her. And he had proven he could be counted on in a tight spot.

"Sounds good. I'll see you this Saturday then!" said Max as she hung up and put her phone beck into her pocket.

"Soon... Please be there, Rachel"! Max thought to herself. "I need answers... Please let me find you again!"

A few days later, Max and her mom were pulling up to the pier where all the boat docks were located. Her mom had moved to Arcadia Bay to keep an eye on Max since her suicide attempt. Though she didn't follow her 24/7, she just needed to be there to see Max off that day.

"You're sure that you're ok with this? Going back out into the ocean again, Maxine?" Max's mom asked worriedly as they sat in the car together just off the pier, in the parking lot.

"Yes, Mom. I promise that I'll be ok. Plus, Warren will be there with me. So I'm not going out alone. And the weather forecast is supposed to be clear, calm and sunny all day." Max replied wearily, "Can you please stop worrying and just trust me again?"

"I'm sorry, Maxine. But any mother would be worried after their only daughter nearly drowned out there. And not at all by accident, but because she wanted to!"

"Mom! Can you just stop!" Max screamed angrily as she pounded the dashboard with her balled up fists. She then put her head in her hands and hung her head.

She wanted, more than anything, to tell her mom all about her powers, what she had been through and how hard she had tried to save Chloe, but couldn't. All those events that happened were Max's burden alone to bear. Her own nightmare she had to live with.

"Maxine, I'm... Sorry," Max's mom apologized, "I know how much Chloe meant to you."

Max looked over at her mom with teary red eyes, "No, Mom... You don't. You never will understand just how much I really loved her." And two tear drops trickled from her eyes, ran down her cheeks and left glistening streaks that clung to her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to make you so upset. Are you alright? Do you want to go home?"

Max wiped her cheeks with the back of her plaid sleeved shirt, "No. I came her to do something and I'm going to do it! Besides, Warren is waiting for me. I promise, I'll be ok."

"Alright, I'll stay at the dockside restaurant and wait for you to come back when you're ready."

Max didn't want to argue, but at least her mom didn't ask to come along in the boat with them too. So Max nodded and exited the car and headed to the back to retrieve her trunk.

Down at the docks, Warren was waiting down by his parents small twin engine pleasure craft boat. It wasn't much bigger than a standard fishing boat. But it would get them to where they needed to go.

Warren then looked up from his phone and saw Max making her way towards him, dragging a rather large looking trunk with wheels behind her.

He chuckled as she had finally reached him and set her trunk down and breathed heavily.

"Hey, Warren!" Max greeted as she wiped her sweaty brow.

"Checking in?" Warren asked as he peered around Max and looked at her luggage, "Just how much stuff did you need for a simple pleasure cruise date?"

Max shrugged nonchalantly, "Just the bare essentials. We ready to go?"

"Oh, Yes we are!" Warren said as he stepped aside and held his arms out, "Step aboard, Miss! Let Captain Warren Graham take you out to sea!"

Mad chuckled and stepped down from the docks onto Warrens boat, she then grabbed her trunk and began to drag it aboard as well. Warren, bring a gentleman, grabbed the other side has helped her get it aboard, he too then stepped into the boat and headed for the wheel. Max took a seat at the back, her heart was being fast with anticipation as soon all her months of work would be put to the test as she searched for Rachal Amber amongst the ocean depths. Warren then began to pull away from the docks, and once he was safely away, he gave the boat some throttle and he and Max began to head towards the outer ocean together.


End file.
